Tips and Tricks to Selling your Own House or Flat (or castle)

Make a special workbook / file for your selling project. A good old filofax is ideal. However any old exercise book, diary or file will do.

It pays to be organised. Have a pad by the phone to enter details of viewers and your impressions of them. This can be very useful when it comes to negotiating. Keep the names and addresses of anyone who makes an offer in case the one you accept falls through.

Keep this by the phone or to hand so you can efficiently write down details of any enquiries and book viewings. Tie a pen to it or your phone cord. Fix it to the string with sticky tape. It can be irritating if people have to wait for you to find a pen... first impressions count. You want a no nonsense buyer. They want a no nonsense seller.

Be safe. Always request proof of identity from prospective viewers. Explain it's the standard security requirement for your insurers. Check their reaction.

Ask for their address. Check the phone book to see if they live there. Get two land line phone numbers- for their work and home - from them. Call their work and say you are conducting a quick security check. Have someone else in the property or let a neighbour know. Hide away any valuables. Make a note of their name and any details in your sale workbook and hide this.

See more Security Tips for Showing Strangers around Your Home

Set your asking price slightly higher than you expect to get.

This means you can come down a bit in negotiation without having really given anything. See negotiating skills guide.

 

Create a competitive atmosphere by organising group viewings.See other tips on viewings

Prepare your property.

First impressions count the most. So tidy, de-smell, hide the dog, and get rid of clutter...

Read all the tricks in our Guide to Preparing your home for sale

 

When someone makes an offer get this put in writing by their solicitor.

Until you have this in writing it is not really an offer. This letter should also confirm their financial position.

 

Not all buyers are the same.

Avoid anyone stuck in a chain where possible.

Ideal buyers are first time buyers, people who have already sold their house and moved, possibly into rented accommodation.

 

Be responsive and available.

If you go off on holiday tell your prospective buyer beforehand. Don't just disappear for a couple of weeks. It's rude and it's bad for business.

Always aim to respond to any questions within a day or two.

Keep up the momentum. If you don't, the longer the process goes on the more you risk being affected by "events" - other people’s problems and so on.

Read more about how to deal with offers

 

Make sure your solicitor is good at conveyancing.

Dozy solicitors are one of the biggest threats to any property deal.

Consider using a licensed conveyancer. Read more about how to choose your legal adviser

Get your own solicitor / licensed conveyancer.to carry out Local Authority Searches as these can take a long time. Having these in hand to show the buyers can really speed things up.

Consider having your own independent survey done on the property. You can show this to buyers. It also prevents their own survey from revealing problems which they can then use to negotiate the price down.

 

Read all the Tips and Tricks in

The DIY Guide To Selling Your Own Home

Summary

The Pros & Cons

The Valuation - How to Set the Right Price

Getting Professional Legal Help

MARKETING - How to Get Your House Seen

BEAUTIFULLY APPOINTED – Describing Your Property

Preparing Your Home to Sell

Viewings It's showtime folks

Dealing with offers - The Golden Rules to Negotiating

THE GREAT EXCHANGE – contracts and legal stuff

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX – Selling options